Aging issues expert appointed academic director for School for TransformAging
Kim Chaudoin |
Aging issues expert Beverly S. Patnaik was recently appointed director of academics for the School for TransformAging at Lipscomb University.
Patnaik will expand the university’s TransformAging programs to serve those in the Nashville community and beyond.
“As we educate leaders in the field of aging services, we also must remember that as a university community we have an obligation to serve those around us, whether it is providing support to staff and faculty who are dealing with aging parents, to providing opportunities for students to serve and learn from the older adults who live in close proximity to the university,” said Patnaik.
More than 6,000 Nashvillians over the age of 65 live in a 1.5mile radius of the Lipscomb campus. Patnaik plans to develop programs to integrate academic programs and learning opportunities with community service. She said Lipscomb is one of the first universities in the country to offer an innovative aging services program of study and services to the community.
“Beverly brings a unique perspective to this innovative school through her diverse experience in the government and nonprofit sectors. She has also actively engaged corporate America on aging-related topics and has traveled extensively across the United States helping to replicate best practice service models. Her passion for aging issues is contagious. We are delighted she will be working with our students and external clients as we seek to help improve the quality of life for older adults in this community and across the nation,” said Charla Long, dean of Lipscomb’s College of Professional Studies which houses the School for TransformAging.
Patnaik, who was recently honored with the Applied Gerontologist Award for her lifetime achievement in the field of aging services by the Southern Gerontological Society, said she also plans to collaborate with health care companies in Nashville to make an impact on aging in the future.
In August 2011 Patnaik joined the Lipscomb staff as a consultant to the School of TransformAging to write curricula for courses and served as an adjunct faculty member, wrote grant proposals and represented the school at speaking engagements. She brings more than 30 years of experience as a gerontologist in the field of aging issues.
Patnaik’s career experience includes serving as director of technical assistance for the Community Partnerships for Older Adults, a program housed at the University of Southern Maine in Portland, Maine and funded by a $25 million Robert Wood Johnson Foundation grant. She has served on the faculty at Duke University Medical School, University of North Carolina-Charlotte, Central Piedmont Community College and Livingstone College. Patnaik also was executive director of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Council on Aging and assistant director of services for adults at the Department of Social Services in Charlotte, N.C.
She currently serves as president-elect of the Council on Aging of Greater Nashville, for which she chairs its Leadership Council, and is on the advisory board of the Martin Center in Brentwood, Tenn.
Patnaik received a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Southern Wesleyan University in a Master of Arts degree in studies in aging from the University of North Texas.
About Lipscomb’s School of TransformAging: Leading Transformation for Aging Services
The School of TransformAging at Lipscomb University is designed to address the issues facing seniors and the individuals who serve them by finding lasting and meaningful solutions to America’s aging crisis. This crisis requires everyone to think differently about aging services and demands innovative leadership from all sectors, including education. The School of TranformAging offers an innovative multidisciplinary graduate certificate program and master’s program in aging services leadership that will help develop a new workforce that will passionately pursue careers with the aging and demonstrate a holistic skill set. It also serves as a neutral convener of conversations of significance regarding aging issues; provide useful and timely information and training for both professional and family caregivers; and serve as the catalyst for applied research and design for professionals in the field.